Internet Sai
by Lady J
Summary: 2 years after Sai had disappeared, Hikaru & co. found a player named Sai on the Internet.
1. Online Fan Clubs

The usual Disclaimer: HnG does not belong to me, blah blah blah.

* * *

*Knock*Knock*

"Who's there?"

"Shindou."

"Shindou who?"

"Shindou Hikaru."

The door swung open before Hikaru. Glaring back at him from the inside was one of his best friends, Waya. "You are late! You could've at least said something funny!" Waya yelled.

"Sorry, I slept in," an apologetic grin spread across Hikaru's face, as one of his hands rubbed against the back of his head. His friend blocked the doorway for a moment longer before letting him in. Isumi and Nase were already there. It was a nice Sunday morning in March. It had been a while since he had seen his friends. Everyone had been busy with their matches now that three of them have become pros. He was supposed to be at this study session an hour ago, but as usual, he was late.

"So how's it going?" Hikaru walked in as he noticed that Isumi and Nase were in the middle of a game.

"I'm losing," the girl replied, staring at the goban between her opponent and her.

"Well, duh~" he rolled his eyes and said sarcastically. "I'm asking by how much you are losing."

"HEY!" Nase tied her eyebrows. Hikaru laughed. Waya bent down beside Isumi and put a hand on his shoulder, "Your opponent is THE Isumi Shinichirou who passed the pro exam undefeated afterall!"

Isumi, a little embarrassed, smiled humbly, "But I lost to both of you at the exam before that."

"You are taking the pro exam this year, Nase?" Hikaru asked, taking off his backpack.

"Yep, I hope I pass this year!" Nase prayed. "You guys gotta help me practice today!"

"Sure, I'll play you after you resign," Waya laughed, resulting a glare from the girl. The others laughed along. "Until then, let's play a game, Hikaru."

"You got another goban?"

"No."

"..."

"..."

"17-6!" 

"16-17!" Hikaru shouted back as he realized that Waya was challenging him to play blind go.

"16-6!" The other boy responded with an anticipated grin, pointing his finger at his opponent.

"Quiet down! You are disturbing us!" Nase complained. Both boys pouted as Waya muttered something along the line: "It's not like you would win if we don't disturb you..."

"Let's play Internet Go then," Waya suggested, walking toward his computer.

Internet Go. Memories flooded into Hikaru's head. It had been two years since he played for Sai on the Internet, Hikaru thought. The last time had been the match against Touya Kouyo. It had been the game of the century. Hikaru closed his eyes and remembered the tensed aura that he had been able to felt during the game even though it had been over the Internet. Each move had been as breathtaking as the one before.

"Yo, Shindou!" Hikaru snapped open his eyes and walked to the computer as his friend launched a browser.

"Have you played Internet Go before?" Waya asked.

"Umm...no, but I've watched."

"How is it fun to play on the Internet? Pros don't play Internet Go much, so wouldn't the people who do suck?" Nase asked.

"Not necessarily. There was this unbeatable player named Sai a few years back, who played on the Internet often," Isumi explained. "I heard that even Touya Sensei wasn't able to beat him.

"Sai," Hikaru repeated the name that was so familiar to him.

"That's right. I've played him too. Back then, I was still an Insei, but he was good. He was God!" Waya praised Sai like a devoted fan. "There are fan clubs on the Internet, I am a member of some of them too!" He then quickly went to his Yahoo! Groups page via his bookmarks.

"See how many Sai clubs there are?" Waya scrolled down the page, as Nase and Isumi gathered around the monitor.

"Doesn't anyone know who he is?" Nase was confused at the sight of one of the club names - _Who is Sai_

"Nope. No one knows. Although there are many guesses, no one knows for sure," Waya explained. "All we know is that he's from Japan."

"I wonder if he still is," Hikaru wondered out loud.

"What do you mean, Shindou?" Isumi inquired.

"Huh? Nothing."

"Hey, why don't we look at OUR clubs? Do we have any?" Nase asked excitedly.

"You are not even a pro, Nase!" Waya mocked. "But other than you, all of us do."

"Really?" Isumi smiled anxiously, as his eyes beamed with excitement. "Can I see?"

"Eh?" Isumi looked confused as Waya clicked to the page with the list of clubs dedicated to Isumi. None of them could hold back their laughter, except for Isumi himself. Even Hikaru let go of the thought of Sai, as he laughed uncontrollably. Isumi had four fan clubs: _Sexy Isumi NightClub_, _Hot Steamy Shinichirou Sama_, _Bishounen Isumi for the Gays_, and finally one normal one named _Isumi Shinichirou Go Club_.

"Mwahahha... man, I gotta join!" Waya had tears in his eyes, while Isumi was blushing so badly.

"Let's take some sexy pictures of him and sell them on Ebay! Who knows, we can probably earn more than being a pro!" Hikaru proposed, still laughing.

"Shindou! Waya!" Isumi's pink face showed a glimpse of fear, hoping that Hikaru was joking.

"Waya, what about yours?" Noticing Isumi's expression, Nase decided to help him change the topic, although she was still trying to stop her own laughter.

"I've already checked mine before. I have two normal ones and only one fangirl one," Waya shook his head, pretending to sigh disappointedly. "Couldn't beat Isumi's THREE fangirl clubs...I mean...two fangirl and one fanboy." The three bursted out another laughter, while Isumi showed a pained look on his face.

"What about me?" Hikaru asked as he wiped his tears away. His list was almost as funny as Isumi's that even Isumi tried to hide his smile: _Seductive Shindou_, _Hikaru no Go_, and _HikaAki_.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HIKAAKI?" Hikaru shouted, half knowing the answer to his own question.

"Isn't that obvious, Shindou?" Nase giggled.

"I bet Touya's the founder of the club," Waya teased. "Wanna join, Hikaru? Maybe you could become the co-founder."

"Not funny, Waya!!" he yelled as the others chuckled. "Are we gonna play Internet Go or not?"

"Sure, sure, Touya Hikaru," Waya wouldn't drop it as he logged in as Zelda, his screen name.

Checking the list of players online, Waya said hopefully, "I wonder if Sai's on. I know he hasn't since two years ago after the game against Touya Sensei. But every time I log on, I just couldn't help but hope that he'd be on."

Hikaru realized that he had the exact same feeling. Every time he felt someone behind him, he would turn and hope that it would be Sai. It had been two years, but that hope just wouldn't vanish.

"SAI!" Waya suddenly screamed. He's pointing at the monitor. "It better not be another imposter!"

'Sai? Could it be really him?' Hikaru wondered. 'How could Sai log on without haunting another person? Has he found another person to possess because I was mean to him?' Question after question entered his head continuously.

"He's playing a game! Let's watch. I'll be able to tell if it's the real Sai or not," Waya proudly claimed. "I've watched many of his games."

'So have I,' Hikaru thought and agreed, "Let's watch!" He was unwilling to take his eyes off the monitor. He was afraid that the name Sai would disappear off the screen if he did.

* * *

To be Continued...Please Review


	2. The Hidden Sai

As they launched another browser to view the game in progress, Hikaru held his breath. Although he knew that the chance of the player being the actual Sai was slim to none, he still prayed at the back of his mind.

A quick glance of the goban told them that black was really strong, but so was white. Before they could further investigate the game, white resigned, leaving the victory to Sai.

"So was that Sai?" Isumi asked. Although he was not a big fan of Sai, he couldn't help but was affected by the anxiety of his pro friends.

"Couldn't tell," Waya admitted. "We didn't even have a chance to see him make a move."

Hikaru couldn't tell either, because it did seem a lot like a game Sai would end up with. If anyone could distinguish the Go Sai played from others, it would be him. After all, he had watched and played all of Sai's games in this Era. Not to mention the number of Shuusaku's kifu he had studied in the past two years.

Hikaru suddenly shoved Waya away and seated himself. "I'm gonna play him," he announced.

"No way! I am!" Waya protested, trying to push his blond friend off the chair, but stopped as he saw the determined expression on Hikaru's face. He noticed that he had this desperate look in his eyes. Waya stared at him, confused.

"Looks like we got a bigger Sai fan than you, Waya," Nase stated, noticing Hikaru's face as well.

When Waya finally gave up, Hikaru quickly re-logged in as 'Hikaru' and requested a game with Sai.

"How unoriginal," Waya mumbled at Hikaru's screen name.

Hikaru recalled the times when he had played Internet Go for Sai. Once they had finished a game, they would receive at least 30 requests from all over the world, asking for a game, and Hikaru would just click "Decline" repeatedly until they saw someone with a name that sounded either interesting or like a good player. He would bet the same thing was happening with this Sai. 'With this many people requesting, if he is the real Sai, he would accept my challenge', Hikaru thought. And he did.

"He accepted your challenge!" Nase cheered, unable to hide her excitement. Hikaru felt his muscles tensed up, while his hope raised. 'Could it really be Sai? If it is, this would be the first time playing him again in two years! I want to show him my improvement. I want to show him. I want to talk to him.'

With the thought, Hikaru typed a message to Sai: _Sai!! It's me, Hikaru!_

Hikaru's friends looked at him questionably. Did he know Sai? Hikaru didn't notice the reaction of his friends. He didn't care.

Sai replied, _Hikaru._

A droplet of tear rolled down Hikaru's cheek. 'Sai?'

"It's not Sai," Waya said coolly as if he heard his thoughts. Hikaru turned to look at him immediately. 'How can he be so sure?'

"Sai never answers to anyone," his friend once again read his mind.

"That was because he doesn't know English!" Hikaru yelled back. "But he would if someone nearby could translate for him."

Waya stared at the outraged Hikaru. Realizing what he had just said, he quickly returned his attention to the game and made his first move. However, Waya's stare did not leave Hikaru. 'How does he know this?' Remembering how he had once thought Sai was related to Hikaru, but his friend had denied with a story. He had believed him back then, but now had second thoughts from the way Hikaru had reacted.

"Didn't you say Sai replied to you, Waya?" Isumi asked, interrupting his thoughts.

He did. _I'm strong, ain't I?_ Waya had thought that it sounded like something a kid would say. Something a kid like Hikaru would say. The thought struck him. He had thought about this before, but he was sure Hikaru was not Sai, or else he wouldn't want to play Sai so badly now.

"Were you the one who translated for Sai back then?" Waya asked cautiously. The question caused Hikaru to wince. "Answer me!" he demanded.

When Hikaru remained silent, Nase interrupted, "With Shindo's English, he can barely pass junior high, let alone translating."

"Exactly," Waya interpreted. "That was why Sai never answered to anyone!"

Hikaru tried to ignore Waya's accusation and continued to play. There were currently six stones on the goban, and his opponent was playing the way Sai would so far. His heartbeat accelerated. His hand shook as he placed the next stone with the mouse.

_You can't even beat me, Hikaru! _Sai had once told him, when he had realized that his time was running out. In return, Hikaru had reminded him of how he couldn't even pick up a stone without him. He closed his eyes, recounting the number of times he had hurt his best friend, best teacher when he had tried to warn him of his disappearance. He had ignored him. Called him a liar.

*Beep* The sound alerted Hikaru. Sai had placed another stone. He squinted his eyes and imagined the possibilities the move could lead to. *Beep*

"Is it Sai?" Isumi asked quietly after twenty minutes. He must admit that it was a brilliant game. The number of audience was increasing every minute.

Waya was almost certain that it was, but wanted a confirmation from Hikaru. He scanned Hikaru's calm face, the face he always had when he was playing a match. "Shindou?"

The pro was too concentrated on the game, foreseeing the possibilities of the game. 'Sai? Is it you, Sai?' The question repeated over and over again in his head as he placed each and every stone on the goban. Looking up from the goban at the opponent across from him, he couldn't see the so-called Sai at all. He's hiding in the darkness. Then suddenly, a white wide sleeve emerged from the blackness, horizontal to the goban below. A hand peeked out from under the sleeve, holding a white stone between the index and middle finger.

*Pa-chi*

It landed on a spot, which Hikaru had overlooked, just like he had always had when he used to play Sai.

* * *

A/N: It didn't progress much, did it? Hehehee... Thanks for the reviews. Too bad I can't read all of them, since fanfiction screwed up. For those of you who reviewed the 1st chapter, but it never showed up, could you please kindly repost? Better yet, combine it with your review for this chapter! I'm glad that a non-shounen-ai fic could have these many reviews though! Next chapter...a bit of Touya Koyo!


	3. The Vow

_You can't even beat me, Hikaru!_

'Is that true? Will I ever be able to beat you, Sai?' Hikaru stared at the glowing white stone his opponent had just placed, how its glow spread and connected to the rest of the stones. He had missed it again. Whenever he had thought he had foreseen every single possibility, the corner of Sai's mouth would curve up slightly, and then he would point his fan at a place Hikaru had failed to notice. Every single time.

'Is there a way I can turn this around?' Hikaru frantically searched, eyes studying every intersections of the board. His palms started to sweat.

His head dropped after the hopeless attempt, bleached bangs covering his eyes. "You're right, Sai. I can't even beat you," he whispered, shaking.

"Shindou?" Isumi asked with concern. Hikaru then raised his head slowly, staring at the goban on the monitor. It was clear that his face was wet from tears. 'So that was why you left me, because I'm not worthy to be your opponent.'

*Beep* An alert dialog popped up. It read: _Hikaru has resigned._

Without making eye contact with anyone, Hikaru hurried out the door, totally forgetting his backpack.

"Shindou, wait up!" Waya called, grabbing his friend's backpack on the way out.

"Shindou!" Waya ran after his friend on a busy street, but Hikaru didn't stop. He figured that Waya would probably bombard him with questions about Sai. He was not in the mood to explain the whole Sai thing. Currently, what occupied his mind was the thought of why Sai had left him 'Sai left because I was not strong enough. He left to find someone worthy.' This thought alone caused his heart to ache.

"Shindou! Your backpack!" Hikaru then realized that he had left his backpack at Waya's place. When Waya saw that he had finally stopped running, he slowly walked toward his standing friend.

Waya handed the yellow bag to Hikaru. He took it after pausing for a moment. "Thanks."

"I don't know what the relationship between you and Sai is, but I won't make you tell me," Waya told his friend, whose face was mostly hidden by his hair. "Just let me know when you want to talk about it, alright?" 

With this said, Waya put a comforting hand on Hikaru's shoulder. Hikaru slowly raised his head, his reddened eyes meeting his friend's concerning eyes. A weak smile appeared on his face. "Thank you, Waya." 

Face up, lying on his bed, Hikaru placed both his hands behind his head as he replayed the game mentally. At the beginning of the game, it started off like Tutoring Go. However, when Sai realized that Hikaru had improved and was playing seriously, it seemed like he couldn't bare with the thought of losing, and just like the old Sai, he cut Hikaru in half right away. Hikaru smiled at the thought bitterly. 'If it weren't Sai, he wouldn't have started off with Tutoring Go with me. It was definitely Sai.' 

Hikaru studied his right palm, imagining the red circle that represented victory stamped permanently onto it. "If you left me because I sucked," Hikaru closed his hand into a fist quickly, as if grabbing onto the circle. "Then I'll prove you wrong! I'll beat you someday, Sai! I'll show you!" He vowed. 

----------Somewhere in Canada----------

"Jo? You aren't sleeping, are you?" Bruce asked his friend on the other end of the line, leaning back on his computer chair. "There was someone claiming to be Sai on the Internet. It was an amazing game he played."

----------Somewhere in Australia----------

"Hmm? No, I'm not sure. I've never seen Sai played before, but that game I just saw was definitely between two pros," Trevor told his Go buddy.

----------Somewhere in China----------

"Did you just say Sai?" Touya Koyo turned around from his game, his attention caught by the sound of the name. A young Chinese pro just came from his room, and was now telling his friends about the Internet game he just saw.

"You know about Sai too, Touya Sensei?" The young pro asked.

"Of course he does, Yang Hai," Li Sensei, who was playing against Touya Sensei, said. "The game between Touya Sensei and Sai was the game of the century, didn't you know?"

"Oh! That's right! How could I have forgotten!" Yang Hai smacked his forehead, as if he had just forgotten something as important as his own name. "Do you know who he is, Touya Sensei?"

"Regrettably, I don't," Touya told the pro. "What were you saying about Sai?"

"He has returned!" Yang Hai cheered. "I just watched two games of his just now! They were amazing, especially that last one. His opponent was definitely a pro."

"A pro?" Touya said thoughtfully. "What's his name?"

"Hikaru," Yang Hai put his hand on his chin, wondering. "I wonder if it was Shindou."

Touya Koyo narrowed his eyes slightly.

"This Sai is so mysterious," Yang Hai commented. "So many people have played him and he's never lost, but no one knows who he is. I wonder if anyone has even seen his face before!"

"It seems like he only plays on the Internet," Touya responded, recalling that time at the hospital. Hikaru had begged him to play his friend, Sai. He had almost refused, because he felt that the request of a serious game on the Internet was absurd. He was glad that he had accepted in the end. It had been the game of a lifetime.

"Ya, like a ghost that wanders on the Internet," the pro smiled at the amusing thought.

"Are you going to play Sai again, Touya Sensei?" Li Sensei asked hopefully. "It'd be a blessing to the Go World if you could."

"I'd very much love to."

* * *

A/N: Yang Hai was Isumi's roommate when he was in China, just in case you forgot. Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming! Any ideas on how this should work out? I have a few, but I am still trying to decide. Touya Akira appears next!


	4. The Kid

"Touya!" Hikaru waved to the black-haired pro, who had just arrived. The boy turned and walked toward his direction.

"Shindou, how are you?" Akira greeted his rival politely.

"Not too bad," he replied, pondering why Akira always had to be so formal, even when he knew that Hikaru didn't care about formalities at all. Sometimes, he wondered if he was doing that to annoy him.

"Congratulations on making to the Honinbo League."

"Well, still a long way to catch up to you," Hikaru commented truthfully. Akira was already a 5-dan, whereas he himself was still a 3-dan.

"Well then, congratulations on not being late," he joked.

Hikaru gave him a glare, "What was that supposed to mean?? I'm not always late!"

"Not today."

"There were other times too!"

"Well, I can't seem to recall those times you are referring to."

The argument lasted for several minutes. Hikaru finally changed the subject, "Well, whatever you say, I am quite punctual sometimes. Hey, where's your station?"

"Section B," Akira replied as Hikaru snorted quietly as if he had won the argument when Akira didn't make a comeback.

"I'm in the same section. There's still half an hour before convention begins. Wanna play some speed go until then?" Hikaru suggested as the eyes of the other boy beam with delight.

"Of course! I haven't played you for the longest time!" Akira held Hikaru's shoulders with both of his hands, excited.

"HIKA-AKI! AKI-HIKA! ..." Cheers suddenly aroused from the main entrance. Surprised, both boys turned to look at the fangirls, who were eagerly waiting for the staff to let them in.

"Hey, look, Shindou! We have a united fan club!" Akira said happily.

"Don't get too close! Those fangirls are gonna get the wrong ideas!" The blond pro yelled, brushing his hands off quickly, while backing up a few steps. The other boy looked at him, clueless. "Get the wrong ideas?"

"It's too late, Hikaru. They already do!" Waya's voice came from behind, snickering. It had been two weeks since Hikaru played Sai on the Internet. It was the first time that Hikaru had talked to Waya since then.

"Waya!" Hikaru shouted at his face. His friend laughed it off. He was glad that Hikaru was back to his old self, which means...

"Hey," Waya lowered his voice as he pulled him aside. "So, how much do you know about Sai? Are you two close? You think you can get me an autograph or something? Better yet, can I meet him someday?"

"Didn't you say...!"

"I know," Waya smiled sheepishly, both hands in his pockets. "I kinda regret what I said. It's been bugging me these past two weeks. I've been cursing myself for being such a considerate friend," he then put his hand on his face, pretending to look exhausted. "You know, Hikaru, I have been having sleepless nights, thinking about Sai. You are the only one who can save me, Hikaru."

"Uh-huh. Whatever, Waya," Hikaru turned his back to Waya, completely saw through his act. "Let's go, Touya."

"Hikaru!" Waya called after his one and only connection to Sai. "Damn it!"

"We are in Section B. Come look for us during lunch break," Hikaru informed him without looking back, raising one of his hands to indicate that he was leaving. Akira smiled politely at Waya as he walked away with his rival.

"What was that about?" Akira asked as they approached their booths.

"Nothing," Hikaru replied expressionlessly. "10 seconds?"

"That's fine," the boy agreed as he watched Hikaru set up the timer. "I heard from my father that you are playing Internet Go."

Hikaru paused for a moment, and grabbed some stones to Nigiri. "No. Not really."

Noticing the pro's fist on the goban, Akira grabbed two stones from the container. While dropping the odd number of stones onto the goban, Hikaru asked without meeting his opponent's eyes, "D-Did Touya Sensei see me online?"

Akira looked at the other boy curiously. If Hikaru said that he hadn't been playing Internet Go, why would his father have seen him online? "No, Yang Hai san said he saw someone named Hikaru playing a few weeks ago, so he was just wondering if it was you."

"Oh," Hikaru placed his first stone on the board, and hit the timer. He suspected both Akira and his father knew who he was playing against.

* * * * * * *

About ten minutes before lunch, Hikaru heard a loud complain from Akira's booth, which was two stations away from his own. The kid was about thirteen years old, wearing an orange Nike cap. He looked pissed. "Ughh~!!! OK, I suck. There's no way I can master Go! Stupid Go gives me headaches!"

"You were doing very well, except that..." Akira tried to explain.

"Bah~ except that I made a mistake here and there and here and there and everywhere, right?" The boy impatiently cut the pro's sentence off, arms crossed in front of his chests. He then started to mutter, "I don't understand how you can enjoy a board game so much. So far, I've never won a game. This is really discouraging..."

"But you have talent, as long as you practice more..." Akira encouraged. The boy then looked up at the pro as if he hadn't expected Akira to be listening to his mumbles.

Frowning, the kid stood up and started to walk away, "Thank you for the game anyway."

As he passed by Hikaru's booth, he suddenly stopped to look at him. His big innocent blue eyes blinked when they met Hikaru's. When Hikaru smiled at him nicely, the boy returned an uneasy smile. But he quickly turned away, and mumbled, "No, I don't wanna play."

Hikaru stared at him curiously, "We don't have to play a game. Do you want to solve some puzzles instead?"

The boy hesitated, trying to decide what he should do. When he figured that he had got nothing to lose, he took a seat across from Hikaru.

"What's your name?" The blond pro asked as he set up a problem on the goban.

"Murata Torichiro. You are Shindou Hikaru, right?" The kid studied his face.

"Yes," Hikaru tugged his name tag. A shade of pink covered the young boy's face as he realized how stupid his question was. When Hikaru finished setting up the problem, he looked back up at Torichiro. "It's black's turn now, where would you place the stone?" The kid quickly directed his attention to the goban.

Like an amateur, the boy picked up a black stone with his thumb and index finger. He studied the goban intensely, trying to figure out the answer. His face was half covered in the shadow of the cap. Seeing Torichiro's face deep in thought, Hikaru smiled to himself. It reminded him of himself five years ago, when he had first picked up a Go stone. He had held them like the way Torichiro did. It was amazing how far he had walked down the path from there.

Finally, the boy placed the stone carefully at an intersection. Smiling, the pro placed a white stone beside it. The boy then placed another black stone, before Hikaru made another move and took three black stones away with him.

"Eh?" The boy realized that he had not considered this possibility.

"You were really close though. I see why you wanted to place your stone there. It was good thinking, but as you can see, if I did this, you'll lose three stones," Hikaru explained.

"Oh, oh! I know! I should've placed it here!" Torichiro pointed to the spot next the the first stone he had placed.

"Good job!" Hikaru said. "How long have you been playing Go?"

"A few weeks," the boy grinned, quite proud of being able to solve the puzzle. Hikaru had to admit that he was quite impressive.

"Lunch time, Shindou!" Waya approached his booth. He then glanced at the kid. "Hey, it's you!"

Torichiro looked panicked, and hurried away. "Hey, wait!" Hikaru called, then shrugged as he watched the boy pushed through the crowds. 

"Let's go grab Touya and Isumi," Hikaru stood up and noticed his friend's perplexed face. "What's wrong?"

"That kid...couldn't solve this problem?" he asked Hikaru, staring at the goban.

"He did. Not the first time though," he told Waya, who looked really puzzled.

"I played him earlier today with 5 handicap stones," Waya explained. "If he didn't suddenly have a headache and left, I probably would've lost. I figured I must've underestimated him when I saw how he was holding a stone. I'm quite surprised that he couldn't even solve this with one try though."

* * *

A/N: I promise no yaoi, so don't worry! Although I admit that I enjoy reading them occasionally, they are getting repetitive. Hikaru's OC? Really? Well...just pretend that his personality changed in the past 2 years? Crap! Yang Hai knows Hikaru?? I haven't read that far! OK, I'll cheat and change one of his lines in the last chapter. :0þ Torichiro's my OC. Hope he turns out well. Hope I've answered to everyone's comments. More reviews! Up next, Kuwabara-Sensei!!


	5. LongHaired Friend

Hikaru held his breath. "What do you mean?" he asked, multitudinous thoughts and questions flooded his mind. Akira approached just in time for Waya's response.

"Just as I told you, I underestimated him since he held the stones like a total amateur, and I almost lost," Waya repeated, not very sure which part the blond pro did not understand.

Hikaru went silent for a moment, and turned to Akira, who winced at the pro's serious stare. "Four years ago...when you first played me," Hikaru asked slowly.

Akira pondered on the question and replied, "This does sound like what happened that time. I underestimated you, and by the time I realized your 'true' strength, I was unable to defend myself."

"W-wait a minute. You lost to Shindou FOUR years ago, when he couldn't even hold a stone properly??" Waya exclaimed unbelievably. He had thought it was already a miracle for Hikaru to become a pro in merely two years.

Akira nodded while Hikaru once again ruminated. No one was able to read his expression. 'Sai is with another kid, who can't hold a stone properly,' Hikaru tried to sort out his thoughts. 'Is Torichiro a worthier Go player than I am? But he couldn't even solve the easy Go problem I set up. Is he more talented than I am? Was it really Sai?'

"Ugh," Waya had learned years ago that attempting to figure out _The Secret of Hikaru's Go_ (Ochii, Isumi and him usually refer this to '_HikaGo no Secret_' for short) was a waste of time. "You know what. I'm gonna grab Isumi. I'll be right back."

He then headed off to save Isumi from a crowd of girls. Isumi, being the good-looking, cute, shy, and single pro, who had passed the pro exam undefeated, was the most popular Go player amongst girls. Especially at events where he was required to wear a suit, he could be easily located. Just look for the biggest crowd of female fans (mixed with several male ones), and you'd find the poor defenseless pro in the centre of crowd. When Waya finally made his way to the popular pro, he grabbed his arm. "Isumi, let's go!"

"Hai!" For an instance, Isumi was relieved until they noticed that the screaming grew as the crowd moved in.

"WayaIsu!! Over here!" Some girl yelled. They both turned to look and suddenly, flashes of cameras went off. "You two look so cute together!"

"Ugh!" Waya's grip tightened on Isumi's arm and violently pushed through the crowd. Both panting nervously, they met up with Hikaru and Akira. Waya scanned the four of them: Hika, Aki, Waya, Isu. 'Why does _double date_ come to my mind?' Waya shuddered at the disturbing thought.

"We gotta leave, FAST!" Waya told them breathlessly.

"What happened?" Akira asked, wondering what had made the two pros looked so frightened.

"Those fangirls had just corrupted my virgin mind!" Waya looked as if he had just been violated. Although Akira still did not understand, he followed them out.

"Let's go, Shindou," Akira's voice interrupted his deep thoughts.

"Hn," Hikaru followed the other three pros out the door.

"Ho ho ho~" A familiar creepy laugh came from the elevator as it opened. "Looks like it's the new wave."

"Kuwabara-Sensei," All of them bowed to the white-haired old man politely and walked inside the elevator.

The door closed as Isumi shifted uncomfortably when the old man stared at him, "Isumi-kun, how are you?"

"Fine, thank you," Isumi had always been scared of the respectable yet creepy old pro.

"Have you been working out? You look bigger," Kuwabara placed his hand on Isumi's arm, which caused the young pro to wince. "N-no, Sensei."

"You know, Kuwabara-Sensei." Waya suggested. "There's an online club of Isumi that you might like to join."

"Really, which one is it?" The old man looked at the brunette curiously, while Isumi looked as if Waya had just spoken the forbidden words.

"Oh, there aren't many out there. You'll know which one I'm talking about," Waya said with a fake smile.

"Hmm," Kuwabara withdrawn his hand and turned to the dazed Hikaru. "Shindou-kun~ I thought your long-haired friend was back. Is he not with you?"

Hikaru raised his head and looked at the old man questionably, then turned to look at Akira, his long-haired friend.

"Ho ho ho~" The old man laughed. "I'm not talking about Touya-kun. The pretty one who wears a tall hat? I thought I saw him earlier today."

Hikaru stared at the Honinbo title holder, frozen. He didn't know many people with long hair that wears a tall hat. In fact, he could only think of one. All his uncertainties vanished in an instance. It _was_ Sai. He _was_ with Torichiro. Hikaru ran off to look for Torichiro the very moment the elevator door opened up.

"Shindou!" Waya called as he and the others walked out to the lobby. "Where are you going??"

The blond pro ran out to the street. He looked to the left, then to the right, then back to the right. No orange cap in sight. He immediately turned around, thinking that Torichiro must still be inside. He rushed to the elevator and pressed the 'Up' button numerous times impatiently. Ignoring his friends' questions, he headed toward the stairs when he noticed that the elevator was not descending at all.

Houses and trees passed the window of the bullet train at high speed. A boy with an orange cap sat still with his arms crossed.

"We should've stayed longer!" The cute ghost beside him whined, pouting. "Can we go back, Torichiro?? Pleeeeeasssee??" Sai tugged the kid's sleeve.

Torichiro's eyes glared coldly under the cap. "How am I gonna explain when they find out someone who couldn't even solved an easy Go puzzle almost beat a Go pro?"

"Hikaru would understand," Sai mumbled, playing with his own sleeves. "I miss Hikaru~!!!"

"Go's just not my thing, Sai," Torichiro sighed. "It is pretty fun, I must admit. But whenever I let you play, I get serious headaches! It's just not worth it."

Sai looked at the child. His words reminded him of Hikaru when he told him that he would not let him play Go anymore. "What do you mean?" Sai cautiously asked. Torichiro gave him a quick glance and looked away, feeling a little bad for the ghost.

"This is getting worse every time!!" Sai sobbed loudly. "Torajiro let me play for a whole lifetime. Then, Hikaru only let me play for two years. Now, you only let me play for two weeeeks??!!"

Hands covering his ears, Torichiro groaned, "Arg! You are giving me headaches again!! Why don't you just go back to Hikaru then?"

"I don't choose who I become attached to," The ghost told the boy sadly. "I thought I went to heaven after I left Hikaru." He put his index finger on his lips, thinking. "I'm pretty sure I did." His eyebrows now tied together, looking really confused. "I even applied for reincarnation!" He began to mumble to himself. "The administration people must've messed up...hmm...I never liked that angel with the mustache..."

The train started to slow down. "Eh? Torichiro, we are getting off already?" Sai asked as he noticed the boy stood up and walked off the train with a terribly bored expression on his face. The ghost quickly followed his 'master' out the door.

* * *

A/N: Torichiro is not just some kid! You'll find out what's so special about him that Sai had to return! I think only the 'master' of Sai can see him. So, since Hikaru's not his 'master' anymore, he is not able to see him...except for people who can see ghosts, like Kuwabara! I've always believed that Kuwabara can see ghosts. How else can he be so creepy-looking??!


	6. Absence of the Lucky Fan

_My opponent finally placed a stone on the goban after struggling for a period of time. He was wearing something weird, or rather, something really old-fashioned. So was his hairdo. The room we were playing in was rather dim. However, I could feel that there were many in the room, concentrating on the game that we were playing. They all looked like they were from the past._

_"5-8!" An echoing voice commanded. I did not look around for the source of the voice. It seemed like it was just a voice in my head. I picked up a stone from the container before my knees. Obeying the order, I placed the stone on the board professionally._

_"I resign," the man across me lowered his head. His voice also seemed far away._

_When I looked at the goban, I realized the game had been beautifully played. It was a blessing to be able to witness such a game. I smiled and thanked God for blessing me with this voice in my head. Then, suddenly, it occurred to me, _When did I learn to play Go? I suck at Go! _I could not find the answer, no matter how hard I tried. My head hurt._

His head hurt when Torichiro woke up, sweating. His hands rubbed his temples, hoping that it would help. The alarm clock beside his bed read 4:32a.m. He scanned the bedroom as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. A ghostly figure sat still on the floor, staring at some souvenirs and pictures he took from the Go convention last week. Ever since Sai appeared, he had been having headaches. Recently, he had been having weird visions and dreams about playing Go, like the one he just had.

"Torichiro! You are awake!" Sai smiled happily at him. "Let's play a game!"

"I don't have a goban," the boy fell back to bed.

"Are you not feeling well, Torichiro?" Sai asked with concerns, approaching the bed. He put his hand on the boy's forehead. "It's burning hot!"

"AH~ Get your freezing hand off me. I'm fine!" He brushed Sai's cold hand away.

"Sorry," Sai apologized, forgetting that ghosts were cold-blooded. Torichiro stole a glance of the pouting Sai, and sighed. "Just having bad dreams about playing Go."

"Go??" The ghost's face brightened up. "How was it? Can you replay the game for me?"

The boy could not believe this man. "I forgot already," he said. But then he realized that the game was still crystal clear in his mind. Every single move. It was as if it had been engraved onto his head. He turned to the disappointed Sai and smiled, "But it was awesome." A smile spread across the ghost's face.

* * * * * * *

*Pa-chi*

Hikaru stared at the goban. Then, as if awaking from a dream, he realized the situation. The game had been badly played. He couldn't believe himself. 'What was I thinking?' He asked himself, although he knew the answer. 'Concentrate! I can still turn this around!' He told himself.

*Pa-chi* Approximately ten hands later, his opponent surrendered. Hikaru bowed and stood up from the game calmly.

"That took you long!" Waya commented as he walked out to the hall. "What's going on? You are usually the first one done. Was your opponent that strong?" Most of the matches were done. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest. It looked as if he had been waiting for a prolonged period. Beside him was Akira. It seemed like he was waiting for him too.

"Touya, you have a match today?" Hikaru wasn't aware.

"No, you didn't show up yesterday at the Go Salon, and you didn't call. I was just wondering why," the 5-dan paused, "Is something bothering you, Shindou? You did take a while today."

"No," The pro replied and looked away. "I was just...distracted."

"Distracted? That's the worst mistake a Go player could make!" The brunette warned. Hikaru responded with an awkward silence, Waya noticed the absence of the fan Hikaru always had with him whenever he had a match. "Was it because you didn't have your lucky fan with you?"

Hikaru opened his palm to looked at it for a moment, than closed it into a tight fist. "I don't need it anymore. I can play just as well without it."

When they walked out the building, Waya finally built up his courage to ask the question that had been wandering in his mind for a long time. "You've been acting strangely ever since the convention."

Hikaru stopped his pace, sensing there was more Waya had to say. "W-who was that friend Kuwabara-Sensei was talking about the other day?"

He thought for a moment as his friends watched him anxiously. Both held their breath as if they were about to enter a forbidden ground. The blond pro knew that if he remained silent again, their curiosity would come back to him again and again until an answer was given. He slowly turned to the brunette and replied, "Sai."

"SO YOU DO KNOW SAI!" Waya exclaimed, although he sort of knew that all along. Hikaru was a little stunned by his exclamation. So was Akira. He was in fact more surprised by Waya's reaction than Hikaru's answer. After all, the blond did hint several times about knowing Sai to him. Hikaru quickly put an index finger on his lips, signaling the 3-dan to keep it down. It wouldn't be fun at all if people find out his connection with Sai, especially when they were right outside the Japanese Go Institution. Hikaru couldn't help imagining hundreds or thousands of Ogata-Sensei forcing him to arrange a game with Sai.

Waya finally suppressed his excitement and apologized for his outburst. He then whispered, "Can I meet him?"

"No." The pro started walking again, and his friends followed.

"Can you get me an autograph?"

"No."

"Can you..." Hikaru stopped walking suddenly and glared at Waya, who shut up immediately.

"He left two years ago. I have lost contact with him since then."

"Why did he leave?"

"How would I know?" Hikaru's frustration rose. "I guess he chose to leave, because he wanted to leave? I did look for him afterwards, you know? But I guess he hid himself from me on purpose, because..." His voice started to waver, "...because...I was not a good enough challenge for him!" Anger turned into sorrow. Tears poured down his cheeks as his fists shook.

"Hikaru," Waya silently blamed himself for being so inquisitive.

"That was why you skipped all your matches during that time?" Akira asked the rhetorical question. The boy nodded once as he tried to stop the tears. Although Akira knew that there was a bigger mystery behind, he left it at that. They were starting to receive glances from by-passers. The two friends watched in silence as the pro sobbed quietly on the street.

* * * * * * *

"Dinner, Hikaru!" Mrs. Shindou called from downstairs.

"Hai," The pro responded, but remained seated in front of his newly brought laptop. He stared at the list of online players on the monitor for a moment longer before closing the browser. 

For weeks, Hikaru had been waiting for Sai to reappear online. He even brought a laptop solely for this purpose. Everyday after his matches, he would hurry home and turn on his computer. Just to stare at the list being refreshed every once in a while. Mrs. Shindou even suspected her son of becoming an Internet addict, since he seemed to be more interested in his laptop than Go recently. Moreover, Hikaru missed his weekly visit to Touya's Go Salon the day before. Lucky that he hadn't missed an important match. 

After dinner, he returned to his seat, waiting and staring. _Sai, I miss you. Why did you leave me? Do I really suck that much? _He wiped the tears from his eyes, not exactly sure if it was due to the constant staring at the monitor while forgetting to blink, or it was because of his desperation, or both. 
    
    | Sai | JPN |

Hikaru's eyes widened. He blinked. He blinked again. Then he rubbed his eyes. _Is he online? Is he really online?_ His heart pounded against his chest heavily as he invited Sai to a game. 

* * *

A/N: This will probably last for another 3 or 4 chapters. Thanks for the positive reviews!! Keep them coming!


	7. Misunderstanding

Sai accepted the invitation. For minutes, Hikaru just stared at the monitor blankly, and forgot to click on the 'Start' button. This was all due to the tremendous number questions that he wanted to ask Sai. If this were just another normal game, watchers or even the player would log off if the game did not begin after several minutes. However, the number of audience had only increased, for they all recognized the name of Sai. Finally, Hikaru's trembling fingers pressed the keys on the keyboards one by one. 
    
    Hikaru Torichirou?

Torichirou looked at Sai immediately when he saw the private message sent to him from Hikaru, seeking for advice. Several moments passed by, and Sai just stared back at the young boy curiously. Eventually, he got annoyed, "Sai! What do you want me to say?!?!"

"Huh?" the clueless ghost blinked. "What? What did he say?"

Remembering that Sai could not read English, he groaned, "Hikaru asked me if I were Torichirou."

"Eh?" Sai acted a little surprised. "He knows that I'm with you??"

"I guess so," the boy turned his attention back to the monitor. "I guess I can't deny, huh?"

The ghost did not say anything. Fearing Hikaru's grief, he frowned as he gripped his fan tightly.
    
    Sai Yes.

The reply came after several minutes. But to Hikaru, it felt like an eternity. At the sight of the message, he painfully let out depressed sigh. He had to ask one last thing before proceeding the game, regardless of the fact that he already knew the answer. He just needed a solid confirmation.
    
    Hikaru Sai with you?

With his best English, Hikaru sent Torichirou another private message. The same heartbreaking "Yes" came back. Now that he was certain that Sai was really with another child, he did not know what to think. _Was it really because he was not a worthy opponent?_

The number of audience of the soon-to-be-started game had been increasing continuously. _They are all here to see Sai's game, not mine. Because he is a much much better player than I am. _Most people did not even notice whom Sai was playing against. All they knew was that the legendary Sai was playing, and that was good enough for them. While some of them were relieved that the game hadn't started when they logged on, some of them were cursing at the virtual goban, for they had been waiting for over ten minutes.

Collecting his thoughts as he prepared for the game, Hikaru clicked on the "Start" button at last with a *Beep*, beginning the game that everyone was anticipating for.

Hikaru placed each stone on the goban determinedly, as he struggled away from thoughts not related to the game. Responding perfectly to his moves, Sai placed the white stones on the board gracefully and accurately. Hikaru raised his head and tried to study Sai's face when it was his turn. The familiar white face stared back, the tip of his paper fan resting on his lips, which were curved up slightly in a smile.

_Is he mocking me with that smirk?_ Hikaru wondered. _Is he laughing silently at the distance between our strength? _He placed another stone bitterly. Sai paused for a second and instructed Torichirou, "4-10."

*BEEP* Suddenly, the game played in super speed in front of the boy's eyes. "We ...won...by 4.5 moku?" Torichirou breathed, not exactly sure what had just happened. Sai stared at him intensely, stunned at what his 'host' had just said. The boy blinked and realized that the game did not progress at all. It remained at the exact state before he started to hallucinate. The ghost's eyes did not leave the boy. Knowing the result of the game, he studied Torichirou's face carefully, for it would take an extremely experienced pro to be able to see that.

"Torichirou, how...?" Sai began his question.

"I could...see...Aww!!" The boy's head hurt. In an instance, he collapsed from the computer chair that he was sitting on and fainted, as his orange cap dropped onto the floor in his room.

"TORICHIROU!" Sai's voice seemed really far away, Torichirou thought.

Hikaru stared at the hopeless goban on the screen. Sai had done it again. With that last move, Hikaru would not be able to turn the game over. What had he done wrong? Hikaru studied the board. He had responded to Sai's moves well. Too well. Sai could read Hikaru's intentions like an open book. He thought he knew Sai well enough too. He thought he knew most of the tricks Sai could do. Perhaps not. Of course not. How could he possible learn all of the one-thousand-year worth of tricks when he had not even let Sai play many games back then? He had given him attitudes, thinking that he would be the only one Sai could play Go through. How naive he was to think that. Reality had now successfully proven that Sai could always leave him and haunt someone else. 

Two streams of tears flowed down from his eyes. Hikaru, shaken with grief, triggered a dialog, which read, _Hikaru has resigned_.

*BEEP* Sai turned his attention to the sound. He had seen this dialog way too many times that he understood the resignation of Hikaru. "Hikaru," Sai quietly said the name of his previous 'host'. Then quickly, he turned back to the unconscious boy on the ground and panicked. "Torichirou, wake up!"

Another dialog came up on the screen. Hikaru had sent them another private message,
    
    Hikaru Sai, I play bad, ne?

Regardless of how easy the English words were, Sai had no clue what Hikaru had just typed. The only word he recognized was his own name, Sai. He had learned his romanized name when Hikaru had let him play on the Internet. That was the first time ever since he died that he could play a game in his very own name. Not Torajiro's. Not Hikaru's. But Sai's. He had been so happy that time.

Hikaru waited for Sai's reply patiently. He was hoping that Sai would disagree with him and say something such as, "You played well, Hikaru!" or "You have improved a lot, Hikaru!", even though he probably wouldn't understand the word "improve" in English. He looked forward to the *Beep* that would indicate a reply. He waited. One minute. Two minutes. Five minutes. Ten minutes. The reply never came.

'_Did I get disconnected from the Internet? Perhaps something is wrong with the network?_' Hikaru tried to find excuses for Sai's ignorance. '_Why isn't Sai replying? Did he log off already? No, he's still here._' Then finally, it hit him. '_Or...is it because he agrees with me?_'

"I see," Hikaru said to himself quietly, and disconnected himself from the Internet.

* * *

A/N: Only 1 review for the last chapter??? Where did everyone go?? Was that last chapter that bad? ~_~

Next: Hikaru meets Torichirou!!


	8. Meeting of the Hosts

**A/N:** They changed my pen name to Lady J4!!! So I decided to go check who stole the original "Lady J". She had one story...that story sounded familiar...it was as if I had written it. Hahaha...that's right. I then realized that I had registered in 2001 and had written one Batman ff. I didn't even know I used this exact pen name! So, what I did was change her(my) pen name (took me a while to figure out the email address and the password I used) and quickly renamed myself back to Lady J. Mwahahaha!!

* * *

Torichirou opened his eyes slowly. He blinked several times to clear up his blurred vision. An unfamiliar ceiling hung above him. "Where am I?" he asked in a dry voice.

"Torichirou! Thank God you are alright!" Several relieved voices exclaimed at once. He turned his head and next to the bed were his parents and Sai. They all looked worried with a thankful smile.

"I was calling you for dinner and you didn't reply! When I came up, I found you lying on the floor unconscious! I was so worried!" His mom explained, still a little shocked.

"What happened, son?" Mr. Murata asked with concern.

Torichirou stole a glance of Sai and hesitated, "I don't know. I was playing online games and suddenly my head hurt really badly. The next thing I know, I am at this hospital."

His parents weren't quite satisfied with his answer. They wished they knew what had caused his blackout. It would be quite dangerous if he just fainted for no reason. They looked at each other, both worried that the boy would pass out suddenly walking on the streets.

"I think I'll stay with him tonight," Mrs. Murata suggested. Then she felt a comforting hand on the shoulder. "Honey, you are tired out. Why don't I go home with you now and come back tomorrow?"

"But this is not the first time!" she raised her voice, insisting on staying with her son. "He fainted at the memorial two months ago!"

"Don't worry, Mom," Torichirou assured her with a smile. "I'm fine. I probably was too concentrated on the game or something. I should be able to check out any time now."

Seeing the bright smile, the woman finally gave in and left with her husband after making Torichirou promise to take good care of himself.

As the door closed, the boy spoke up before Sai had a chance to say anything, "Sai, I had another dream."

The Go expert studied him curiously. "I've been been having headaches, visions and dreams occasionally ever since I met you," he continued as he turned to face Sai with a serious look. "I think I'm the reincarnation of Torajiro."

The ghost stared at the boy, stunned by his words, not quite sure where this conclusion of his came from. "What makes you think so?"

"The visions and the dreams, I think they are all events of Torajiro's lifetime," That would make sense. That would explain why Sai had been sent back to earth and become attached to Torichirou. Sai listened carefully with great interest as the patient told him about his visions and dreams. As the boy described the games and matches, Sai knew for sure this child before him was the reincarnation of his first 'host', since he recognized all of them. They were all played by him through Torajiro a hundred and forty years ago.

Sai hugged the boy uncontrollably as he sobbed, "TORAJIRO!!! I missed you!! You left me alone in the world!"

"I'm sorry, Sai," Torichirou was a little surprised by his action. "But..umm.. I have absolutely no memory of my previous life. I just had these weird visions of Go games."

Sai blinked and was silent for a second, arms still around the boy. Suddenly, he cried again, "That means you miss me too!!!"

"Perhaps," he smiled and gave a pat on Sai's back. "But don't call me Torajiro. It's To-RI-CHI-rou."

"Hey, what happened to that game against Hikaru? We won, right?" Torichirou remembered. Sai finally let go of the child and nodded. "He resigned. I think he sent a message too, but I had no clue what he wanted to say."

"Do you think he was upset that he lost again?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Nah," the ghost waved, looking as if he knew the boy very well. "He has never won me before. He is probably used to it by now. One more lost doesn't make much of a difference."

However, Sai frowned as he recalled the online conversation earlier. "But then...I don't know if he was upset when he learned that I am with you now."

"Do you want to meet him?" Torichirou offered hesitantly as their eyes met.

* * * * * * *

"Hikaru, it's for you," Mrs. Shindou called from downstairs.

"Hai~" Hikaru put down the stones as stood up from the game that he was replaying and hurried to the phone. "Hello?"

"Hikaru?" The other end asked.

"Yes," he answered. Although the person must know him well enough to call him by his first name, Hikaru could not recognize the voice. "Who is this?"

"It's Murata Torichirou," the voice replied. The pro froze for a minute. He did not know what to say. _Why is he calling? To mock me?_

When Hikaru did not respond for a long period, Torichirou spoke again with a forceful laugh, "Ha, it was a lot of trouble looking up your number since you are not listed in the phone book. We called several wrong numbers before finally reaching you. Ha ha ha."

Then the blond heard him yell, "Shut up, Sai! It was your fault! I can't believe you didn't know Hikaru's number even after living with him for two whole years!"

"I never had to call him!" Sai protested, inaudible to Hikaru.

"Sure sure...whatever," Torichirou returned to the phone. "Sorry about that...umm...Would you like to meet?"

Hearing the boy yelling at Sai reminded Hikaru of all the arguments that they used to have. It was exactly how he used to yell at Sai, blaming him on everything that had gone wrong. He missed all the moments that they had spent together. It was as if he should've been the one yelling at Sai at the moment. He felt like Sai had been stolen from him.

"Of course," he agreed with a sad smile. A million questions had already popped up in his mind, ready to be answered.

* * * * * * *

Walking down the hospital hallway, every step made Hikaru's heart beat faster. He finally reached the door to his destination. _Murata_, reads the sign on the door. _A private room. He must be rich. _He knocked on the door after standing outside for several minutes and walked in. The boy was in bed, smiling politely at him as he returned the smile.

"Are you feeling better?" Hikaru asked routinely. He didn't quite recognize the boy, probably because of the missing orange cap on his head.

"Ya, thanks for asking," Torichirou wasn't exactly sure how he should start the conversation. He had been planning since he had gotten off the phone with Hikaru the night before, but rehearsals were always different from the real thing. "Umm..."

"Are you sick?" The older boy inquired.

"Hmm? No, I mean, Yes. Well, I passed out," he stammered.

Hikaru recalled the last time he fainted when the day he met Sai. Whenever Sai got depressed, he would feel ill. He chuckled, "Did Sai get depressed?"

"Depressed?" The patient wasn't sure where that came from. "No. Not really."

Torichirou's confused expression made the pro realized that the boy must've not seen Sai depressed. _Sai must've been really happy with this boy. At least he lets him play Go. The only time that I fainted was the time I first met Sai. He was way too happy that I couldn't handle his overflowing joy. _Hikaru studied the boy, who was currently mumbling something to Sai. _So he must've made Sai really happy._

"We were playing you online, and in the middle of the game, I passed out." Torichirou explained. "Did you notice how I sort of just left?"

The pro pondered for a minute and recalled the time he had thought they had been disconnected. "Yes, after I resign."

"Umm..actually it was before that. I was out after that last move. I didn't see you resign, but Sai did," Torichirou pointed his thumb to the empty space to his left. Hikaru stared at the space, knowing that Sai was standing right there. The ghost stared back at him, straight into his eyes. "Hikaru, can you see me?"

The blond was silent as Torichirou's glance traveled between the two. "I don't think so, Sai," he finally spoke out loud, then turned to the older boy. "You can't, right?"

Hikaru furrowed his eyebrows, obvious that he didn't hear Sai's words.

"You can't see Sai, can you?"

His eyes returned to the empty space, which Sai was supposed to be occupying. He squinted, as if Sai would materialize if he concentrated hard enough. Unfortunately, he did not have eyes of Kuwabara. Hikaru lowered his head in defeat, yet still trying to act cool about it. "No."

"Why did you leave me, Sai?" he demanded an answer. Against his will, tears started to form. "You didn't even say goodbye!"

"I tried to tell you, Hikaru! But you didn't believe me. I didn't leave by choice!" Sai shouted.

~ S ~ I ~ L ~ E ~ N ~ C ~ E ~

Torichirou blinked, and suddenly realized that it was his turn as the middle person to deliver the message. "Umm..he said he tried to tell you and you didn't believe him and ..uh...he didn't have a choice," he tried his best to recite everything Sai had said.

"Right," Hikaru snorted sarcastically. Finally, Sai noticed his watery eyes. "Hikaru, you are crying?"

Torichirou leaned forward to take a closer look curiously, "Is he really?"

Hikaru looked up at the boy strangely when he felt his eyes on him.

"I've never seen him cry before," the ghost commented.

"Uh...Sai said he's never seen you cry before," the boy said quickly, trying to get rid of the what-are-you-staring-at-me-so-strangely-for look on Hikaru's face.

The pro snickered dryly, "Really? I hate to admit this, but from what I remember, I've been crying quite often ever since you left." It was true. He had never shed a tear the entire time he had spent with Sai. But he had cried for the first time in two years, when he had not been able to find the ghost after a desperate search. He had cried once more when he had found Sai in his Go when playing against Isumi. Then he had cried again at the end of the North Star Cup. Over and over again, he had cried many times recently after he had seen Sai on the Internet. "Do you know how many drops of tears you have made me shed, Sai?"

The ghost stared at the boy, touched. He had not known how much grief he had brought the pro until now. On the other hand, he was grateful that he held an important place in Hikaru's heart. "I'm sorry, Hikaru."

"He apologized," Torichirou passed on the message.

"Apologizing isn't going to help," Hikaru snapped bluntly.

The patient turned to Sai to see what he was going to say. The purple-haired ghost said passionately, "Hikaru, listen! I've enjoyed the time we've spent together, and I'll treasure our memories forever."

"He said he's enjoyed the time you two spent with each other and that he'll treasure the memories forever."

"Sure you did," Hikaru said sarcastically. "Especially when I didn't even let you play Go, eh? I wasn't anything like your Torajirou."

"Hikaru!" Sai shouted, upset that he had these kind of thoughts. "The way you had forced yourself to learn Go while you had absolutely no interest in this game, the way you had let me play on the Internet in my own name, and the way you had arrange the game with Touya Koyo for me... it was more than enough!"

"Sai is really stressed by the way you are thinking right now," Torichirou informed the pro, eyes still on the emotional Sai. "He said the way you had forced yourself to learn Go when you had absolutely no interest in this game, the way you had let him play on the Internet in his own name, and the way you had arrange the game with Touya Koyo for him was way more than enough." The boy smiled proudly at himself for being able to repeat such a long sentence perfectly. 

Hikaru pondered for a minute and asked quietly, "Is that really true? You were happy?" His tone was hopeful when he asked the question.

"Yes, I was. Very happy," Sai smiled brightly with a pair of sad eyes, wishing that he had never left Hikaru. As if he had heard the inaudible reply, Hikaru smiled, finally relieved to know that the ghost did not leave disappointedly.

"Sai, can we review the game from last time?" Hikaru asked as he wiped his tears away with the back of his hand.

"Of course! Sai said you've improved a lot since you two departed!" The younger boy said eagerly. He, too, had been influenced by Sai as his interest in Go had been growing rapidly as days passed by.

Hikaru smiled once again as he was about to head home, since he had learned that Sai had not thought of him as an unworthy opponent. Walking down the hall in the hospital, someone called his name, "Shindou." Hikaru looked up at the gray-haired man.

"Touya Sensei. Mrs. Touya." the pro addressed the former Meijin and his wife with a bow. Recognizing him as one of the visitors of her husband several years ago, the woman returned his greetings with a slight bow and a warm smile.

"I didn't know you've come back from China, Sensei," Hikaru said.

"I just returned last week," Touya Koyo replied. "I'm here for my regular cardio checkups."

"I see," the blond smiled politely. Meanwhile, the man asked his wife to wait for him in the car in order to give them some privacy. After she had left, Touya suddenly spoke, "Have you been playing Internet Go, Shindou?"

"Huh?" Hikaru looked at him, a little startled by the question. "Y-yes."

"So it was you, who have been playing against Sai lately," Touya paused as the boy nodded. The man gazed at nothing in particular, and asked, "Do you know why I retired?"

"Wasn't it because you lost to Sai?" The pro thought it was pretty obvious.

"I didn't just do it to keep a promise. I wanted to become stronger. Being a multi-title holder prevented me from playing strong opponents other than the same group of pros all year long," he continued with a confident smile. "After I retired, I finally had a chance to train myself over in China. I had the opportunity to battle against and study with all kinds of outstanding pros."

Hikaru studied the man quietly, not sure where he was getting at.

"It's been two years. And now, I've become stronger, Shindou. A lot stronger," Touya Koyo's eyes turned to meet Hikaru's, and requested in a serious yet desperate tone. "I wish for a chance to play Sai again." 

* * *

**A/N: ** You know what's the most annoying thing? Making up titles for each chapter. Look how cheesy all of them are, especially that last one, "I See" Can it get any worse?? Every time I upload a chapter, I had trouble making a title up. Next time, I'm just gonna write "Chapter 1, 2, 3 ...etc" for all of them. If you have a better title for "I see", please lemme know! 

Anyway, this chapter is long! Twice the length of previous chapters~! Not really used to it, so I got bored editing ...sorry if there are mistakes. I'm glad that people are still reading though! I thought everyone left town or something. Halcyon Clouds, I know I'm not the best at describing...I'd love to if I have more vocabs to use I guess, but too bad I suck in English, not to mention that I don't know how to play Go, so can't really describe Go games much either. Gomen!! But thanks for tip, I'll try my best to work on it.^_^

Up Next: Isn't it pretty obvious what's gonna happen next? Fujiwara Sai vs Touya Koyo. (either that or something that leads to that)


	9. Rematch

Hikaru gulped at the request.

"Shindou, please," the man begged, noticing his hesitancy.

The pro's eyes wandered a bit and said, "I'll have to talk to him first."

"Last time, you said Sai really wanted to play me and you were the one who begged me. Has he lost complete interest in me already after I've lost to him? I don't care if it's online and I promise I won't ask for his name and ..." Touya panicked, but tried to hide it. He was quite desperate to play Sai, just like how Akira used to go through so much trouble in order to play Hikaru.

"No, I just haven't talked to him in a long time, Sensei," Hikaru explained and suggested, "How about I contact you after I've talked to him?"

Touya Koyo paused and thanked him, "I look forward to your good news then." Hikaru stood there for a while after the man left, then decided to go back to Torichirou's room and discuss this with them.

He knocked on the door once again before letting himself in. "Tori-" He then realized that the boy lying in the bed was asleep. Hikaru shrugged and was about to leave, but stopped midway.

"Sai? You listening?" The pro asked quietly the practically empty room.

"Yes, I am, Hikaru!" Sai replied enthusiastically, as if he could still hear him. The ghost slowly frowned as he noticed the unchangeable expression on the boy's face.

"Well if you are, listen up. I bumped into Touya Sensei outside just now. He said he wants to play a game with you again," Hikaru said, eyes wandering every corners in the room, not quite sure where Sai might be standing.

"Really?? Yeah, Hikaru! You're the best!" Sai ran toward his previous host and made an attempt to hug him, but his arms went right through the pro's body. The ghost blinked and pouted unhappily.

Hikaru, still standing still and unaware of Sai's unsuccessful attempt, said, "Tell Torichirou to give me a call, alright? Later." He turned around and left.

"Bye, Hikaru," Sai whispered. The word made the man even more depressed. He never used to have to say "Bye" to Hikaru, since they had never separated. The one and only time he said the word was when he disappeared two years ago. From now on, however, Sai knew that he might have to get used to seeing the pro depart while leaving him behind. The door closed with a click.

* * * * * *

"Hikaru?"

"Torichirou, how are you feeling?" The blond asked. It's been almost a week since he had visited the boy at the hospital. Hikaru almost thought he would never receive this call, since he hadn't for so many days.

"I'm fine. Mom wouldn't let me check out from the hospital since she's a huge worrier," came the reply.

"Well, all mothers are like that," Hikaru commented.

"I'm free this Saturday, Hikaru," Torichirou finally got to the main topic. "Are you?"

"Me? What does it have to do with me?" Hikaru saw himself as only an organizer. All he had to do was to arrange the time of the game and make sure both parties would be available at the agreed time. He wasn't Sai's host anymore, so he figured that he needed not to be there during the game.

"Sai wants you to be here with him," Torichirou answered with a slight tone of jealousy. "He wants you to watch the game."

"I can watch it online."

"You know it's different," the other end simply said and Hikaru knew it was true. Seeing the each stone appearing on the goban online abruptly and actually seeing the cursor of the mouse move to the destined intersection were by far two different feelings.

"How about one o'clock? We can grab lunch first, then we'll play?" Hikaru suggested.

"Great, see you then!"

"Wait! I need to confirm it with Touya Sensei first to make sure he's fine with the time too. Give me your number just in case, and your address," Hikaru jotted down the information on a piece of scrap paper, and hung up. He then went upstairs to grab his phonebook, and returned to the phone within a minute.

*Ring Ring*

"Touya's residence," Akira answered.

"Touya?"

"Shindou," Akira sounded quite surprised that Hikaru would call. Hikaru never called. "How are you?"

"Great, is your dad home?" he sounded like he didn't want to talk to the other boy.

"My father? Yes," Akira sounded a little disappointed that this only time his rival called was to talk to his father rather than himself, but he kept his manner. "Please hold on."

Hikaru then heard footsteps quickly approaching the phone. "Shindou?" Touya Koyo's anticipated voice came through the line.

"I've arranged a time, Touya Sensei. I just want to make sure you are fine with it."

"Anytime's fine with me," The man assured him gratefully.

"Saturday at one?"

"Thank you very much, Shindou," Touya smiled in relief that Sai was willing to play against him again.

"Umm, just to make sure you remember, same rules apply. Please don't let anyone know about my connection with Sai," Hikaru pleaded.

"Of course," he promised. "Not even my son."

"Well, he knows, and two other people excluding you, but that's about it."

"He does?" the man was a little surprised that his son knew about it. He supposed that Akira would, given that they are rivals. "Well, thanks again, Shindou. I'll be online at one."

* * * * * *

Saturday finally came. Akira noticed that his father had been exceptionally quiet in the past few days, ever since he got off the phone with Hikaru. As his father put down the chopsticks on the table after he was done with lunch, Akira could not hold back his worries and curiosity any longer. "Father! What did Shindou call you for?"

Across the table, Touya Koyo closed his eyes for several seconds with his arms crossed as the grandfather clock on the wall ticked endlessly. "It's time," he simply said and stood up to leave. Akira followed immediately to his den without any further questions. When he saw the man sat in front of the computer and connected to the Internet, the boy remained silent. He knew what was going on.

The gray-haired man waited patiently for Sai to come on. He had looked forward to this for years. He could finally play the legendary Sai again. It did not matter whether he would win or lose, the most important thing was the process of the game, the satisfaction of how excellently your opponent would respond to each and every single move of yours and vice versa.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry to disappoint you, but ... I'm... not ... planning...to...write...about...the...match. *dodge tomatoes and eggs* It doesn't matter who wins or loses, right? But you know what? I think Sai would win...or maybe a tie. But anyhow, I won't write about who the winner would be. In the next chapter, things are probably gonna get wrapped up. Ya, I think the next chap's gonna be the FINALE.


	10. Finale

Sai sighed satisfyingly. He closed his eyes and smiled. It was an amazing game. One of the best he had played in a thousand years. Touya Koyo was definitely a valuable opponent. He opened his eyes and turned to Hikaru, who had the same satisfying face on him. The boy looked at Torichirou and smiled. They had both felt the intensity each move had released during the entire game. They all knew this game would be the hottest topic in the go world the following day, or even tonight.

"Thank you, Hikaru," Sai whispered. His current host turned and smiled at him, "Sai wants to thank you."

Hikaru shook his head and said, "No, Sai. Thank _you_. Thanks for letting me witness this stunning game of yours." Then he thought of something, "Hey, Sai. You've always wanted to play good people when you were with me. I'm sorry that all you could play against was me." He chuckled embarrassingly in guilt.

"It was good enough to play just you," the ghost replied, audible only to Torichirou. Hikaru continued, "What do you say if I arrange games with high-dan players for you?" Sai could only stare in awe. He could not believe his ears. What more could he ask without a body of his own.

"Of course it would take up a lot of Torichirou's time," Hikaru studied the other boy for any signs of objection. There was none but eagerness. The boy was as excited as his possessor.

"I'm free once I'm done exams, Hikaru!" the boy said, then hesitated. "But ... do you think the games can be played online?"

The pro smiled, "High-dan players would agree to anything just to play Fujiwara Sai. Don't worry."

"But would everyone be bugging us for games? That would be quite bothersome!" Sai expressed his concerns.

Hikaru replied Torichirou as he thought of a plan, "Hmm... We'll get Touya Sensei to help out. I'll sort everything out, ok?"

"Thank you very much, Hikaru!" Sai and Torichirou bowed together.
    
    %~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
    
    Ogata Sensei,
    
    You've been invited to a game of Go with Sai. Your game has been arranged at 10:30am
    on Friday, June 30, 2000. There are several rules that you must follow:
    
    1. Game must be played online. Please be on time.
    2. Game must not be announced until after the game.
    3. You must not question the identities of Sai and his fellow disciples.
    
    If any of the above is violated, the game will be cancelled. The game will be 3
    hours long with no handicaps. Please inform Touya Koyo Sensei in advance if you
    cannot attend. We regret to say that your game will not be rescheduled if
    this happens.
    
    Thank you,
    Disciples of Sai
    
    %~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
    

"You think Ogata Sensei will treat it as a prank?" Torichirou asked doubtfully through the wireless phone, lying face-up on his bedroom floor.

"Hopefully not. I did mention Touya Sensei's name in the invitation. So he could always talk to him," Hikaru replied.

"Was your invitation professional enough? Or does it sound like something you write?" the younger boy asked, still worried that Ogata might treat it as a joke.

"Excuse me. Touya edited it for me, so it's all good," he assured him.

"That's better," he sounded relieved. "I'm glad that Touya Sensei agreed to give us a hand, eh?"

"Ya, I guess he wanted to thank us for the games with Sai," Hikaru said. "Or, maybe he just wanted to watch more of Sai's games. Either way, it's good. We can keep our identities a secret while pros can confirm the validity of the invitation with the reowned Touya Koyo."

"How many games will we be playing this summer?" Torichirou wondered.

"As many as possible," The pro answered, then asked the boy. "How many games can _you_ play in a day?"

"3 hours a game," he calculated. "I think one is good. I need time to work on my summer homework and junk too."

"Cool, then we'll have one at 10:30am every weekday during the summer. How does that sound?"

"What about weekends?"

Hikaru blinked, then laughed, "You wanna play on weekends too? I wonder if there are that many 9-dans. How about us two will play Sai on the weekends? We'll have him all to ourselves?" Torichirou happily agreed the the genuine suggestion.

After he got off the phone with the younger boy, the phone rang again. "Shindou's residence."

"Can I speak to Shindou Hikaru please?" A low familiar voice came through the line.

"Yes, speaking."

"This is Ogata," Hikaru froze at the reply. He didn't know what to say other then, "Oh...hi."

"Shindou," the Meijin paused for a moment, as if trying to construct a sentence. "I...received an invitation to play against Sai."

"Oh," the pro simply uttered. "Umm...good for you. Haven't you always wanted to play him?"

"Yes, but I don't know if it's a fraud." the man tested.

"Why are you asking me?" Hikaru hoped that Ogata did not notice the slight stammering.

"Are you a disciple of Sai?" Ogata asked boldly. Hikaru gulped at the sudden question as his palms started to sweat. He replied after a moment of silence. "Are there...rules on the invitation?" He gave himself a proud pat for fast thinking.

Startled, the Meijin understood what the boy was getting at. He had already broken two out of the three rules stated on the invitation. If Hikaru weren't the disciple of Sai, then he had broken the second rule. If he were, then he had broken the third rule. Either way, he would be disqualified. Ogata apologized immediately. Losing the only opportunity to play against the opponent of his dream would be the last thing he want. "I'm terribly sorry to disturb you, Shindou. I beg you to forget about this call," he stammered with fear, praying to God.

The pro fell silent for a moment and took a deep breath as he began to wonder whether this whole invitation thing was a good idea. "Good luck to your game then."

"Thank you, Shindou. Good night." Ogata put down the receiver as he closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

Summer months passed by quickly. The disciples of Sai had organized about 80 games. None of which had a different winner, although many were close wins. Hikaru had made sure the pros he had selected were all the well-respected pros, who would not even think about breaking the rules. A new "Sai vs. Top Pros" column had been added to Weekly Go. The kifus and commentaries of the games throughout the week would be shown. Calling it a column would be an understatement as it generally took up a page or two of the paper. It was hard to not include all the games, since every one of them was a genuine intense battle. The question of the identity of Sai still remained unknown regardless of how hard people try to squeeze information out of the pros who had played against Sai. Even if they wanted to tell, they couldn't as they knew nothing more than the connection to Touya Koyo. Although the former Meijin had been bothered often by questions of Sai, he had not stopped helping out with the games.

Hikaru walked out of the elevator to the lobby of the Go Institute after a match. He noticed Amano-san and one of his colleagues at Go Weekly were chatting about the challenges Sai had been making recently.

"Well, so far, he had never lost a game against any of the 9-dans or title holders. I wonder who he is. No way he's a pro, even though his technique is way beyond one," Amano-san commented, exhaling a puff of smoke.

His colleague agreed thoughtfully, "Sai's like ... the reincarnation of Honnibo Shuusaku!"

Hikaru turned toward them, dismayed. When Amano-san noticed his approach, he greeted him. "Oy, Shindou-kun!"

Without replying, the pro stated coldly, "Sai is _ not_ the reincarnation of Shuusaku. Sai is way better than him." It was obvious that Hikaru was not pleased. He knew well that Torajiro was only another 'disciple' of Sai, just like himself. "Please do not compare them as if they are on the same level."

Speechless, the two reporters looked at each other as Hikaru turned around to leave. "Amano-san, wasn't Hikaru the big Shuusaku fan?"

The older man could only shrugged, "I guess he's now a Sai fan."

Hikaru walked out the building. "Hikaru!" Torichirou waved, running toward the blond with a huge smile on his face. "We won this morning's game!"

"Well, so did I," the pro smiled with pride. "There are still some more skillful pros for Sai to beat. I've looked at their schedules. Let's go send out some more invitations."

"What happens when we run out of high-dan pros?" the young boy asked, concerned. He had enjoyed all the fascinating games. Influenced by Sai and Hikaru, he could not imagine life without Go anymore. Both him and the ghost stared at the pro, anticipated.

Hikaru raised his eyebrows and sighed with a smile. "You are thinking that far already?" He thought for a moment and said ambitiously, "Then we'll go international. We'll send invitations to top pros in China, Korea, North America etc. until Sai conquers the entire Go World!"

**~ Internet Sai - The End ~**

* * *

**A/N: **Whew~! My first HnG fanfic is finally completed. I hope you enjoyed the story. There were several filler chapters that were kinda boring but necessary...sorta like transition chapters. Make sure you review and let me know what you think, should I write more, should I not, praises/flames. Some of you might've noticed that I started a new fic called "Modern Sai". I started a Naruto fic too and I'm working on that one first. Ohoh, feel free to add this story or me to your favourite list!!!

TJ - Sorry. But seriously, I have no idea how to play Go (other than the Atari), let alone the Go World. So I thought 10-dan is just a level a pro can achieve, just like 3-dan etc. I didn't know it's a title. Oops...I made some changes. Thanks for pointing it out though.


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